ATLANTA – Negotiations between the Big East and the breakaway Catholic 7 are ongoing, commissioner Mike Aresco said Friday after a meeting of presidents and athletic directors at a hotel near the Atlanta airport.

"We had some good conversations; didn't reach any conclusions and our negotiations with the other group on continuing. That's it," Aresco said. "We had great discussion on some other topics."

Aresco declined to elaborate further on the progress of the negotiations but said there was no deadline to have a separation agreement.

The breakaway schools announced their intention to leave the Big East in December, but the logistical difficulty of setting up a new league – plus the Big East's 27-month waiting period – made it seem unlikely they would depart before the 2014-15 season.

But with the Catholic 7 closing in on a television deal with Fox Sports, they would prefer the timetable to accelerate. For the remaining schools, both the departure date as well as which group gets the "Big East" name are major bargaining chips. Though multiple outlets reported Thursday that a deal could be reached as soon as today, it appears that an agreement has not been reached.

"I've said from the beginning, the sooner the better," Georgetown coach John Thompson said in Washington. "I think that's best for every and all parties, our situations and other conferences. If you know there's going to be a change, the sooner the better."

Aresco did comment on other issues:

The group discussed whether to invite East Carolina, which is slated to enter the league as a football-only member in 2014, in all sports. "We talked about taking a look at their situation," Aresco said.

Aresco said it's "likely" the group will add a 12th football member. The league will have Louisville and Rutgers next season, but they will depart in 2014 and be replaced by Tulane and ECU, giving the Big East 10 members. Navy will come on as the 11th in 2015. Tulsa is considered the favorite to be the 12th member, though Aresco declined to discuss specific schools.

Though the new television deal with ESPN wasn't voted on Friday, Aresco said "the deal is done" and will be approved by the board soon. "Everybody likes the deal and the exposure," he said.

Aresco said the Big East won't be playing football on Sundays, Mondays or Tuesdays under the new deal. There could be "a Wednesday or two" to accommodate ESPN, he said, but the bulk of games will be on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Aresco said he couldn't comment on issues like future branding or conference basketball tournament locations until the Catholic 7 negotiation is finished.